Complaint Review: Renewable Energy Technologies of Northeast Kansas

1)     
Mr. Thompson stated to us and in his email that he got ordinance passed in Horton, Kansas allowing him to erect a wind turbine in the city of Horton, Kansas.  Horton City Clerk has verified that he did apply for a permit but it was subsequently
denied for failure to submit appropriate drawings.  This was in 2009.

2)     
When he visited us in 2010, he stated that his towers was no taller than existing towers in Atchison and that he knew city commissioners in town and could easily get us a permit.  Additionally he stated that he would apply for the permit; that was his responsibility.

3)     
We signed the contract and gave him the money.  He waited four months to apply for the permit.  He was a local
contractor.  He mentioned Gerber Electric a well-known company in Atchison that he dealt with, plus other business.  We felt that this was a good investment, would eliminate our $200-$500 monthly Westar bill, help the local economy. 

4)     
He delivered 8 batteries and two inverters during this time frame and stated that he would store the wind turbines and 40 foot towers in his warehouse.

5)     
We were constantly told by Mr. Thompson that it was the city that was the causing the delay.  I tried several times to get Mr. Thompson to meet with us to discuss options on tower height.  He failed to show.

6)     
In July 2010, he finally agreed to a meeting and showed up and tried to convince us to install a solar PV system.  He would sell our wind turbines, towers, inverters, batteries, etc.   He wanted to take the batteries and inverters with him on the day he showed up for the meeting, a request that I denied. 

7)     
Initially it looked good, but I did some calculations and determined that 3 units at $5700 each would not be sufficient
to heat and cool our 5600 sq ft house or the additional area of the attached shop.   So I asked for our money back, he
denied our request, stating that he had purchased our wind turbines and towers.  He stated that the deal to sell
our wind turbines and towers fell through. 

8)     
Finally the city got the wind energy ordinance on the books.  Mr. Thompson filed a 2d request for permit and paid an additional $25.00.  On the permit it stated the meeting would be on 6 Oct.  The city sent me a letter to that effect and I sent it to Mr. Thompson.  Mr. Thompson replied that he most certainly would be there.  He failed to show.  I called him to see if he was on his way.  He stated he had car trouble.  This is reported in the City Planning Commission minutes.

9)     
At the November meeting,  Mr. Thompson met us at our house and we all went to the meeting.  We were given
approval to get the conditional use permit.  Mr. Thompson was to go to the City Planning Commission the next day to
get it from the secretary.  Mr. Thompson did not go, he proceeded to just call them and then call me and told me he ran
into a problem.   I had to wait for a delivery, I called and then I went to the City Planning Commission Office, got
the permit and then went and saw Bldg insepctor and got the building permit and paid $331 for it.

10)  
Then it was one delay after another.  Mr. Thompson was to turn in signed and stamped engineer drawings to city planning commission.  Drawings submitted after business hours on 23 Nov 2011 done on instructor paper and did not have any signature on them.

11)  
I spoke to the Bldg inspector on Monday, 28 November, and he informed me that a stop order would be issued.  On Tues, 29 November, I contacted Atchison Sheriff Dept and was advised that I could file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

12)  
I filed the complaint on 29 November .  The BBB called Mr. Thompson that day and that evening, Mr. Thompson sent me an email and breached the contract. 

13)  
After I read his email, I did nothing.  The next morning I sent him an email informing him that I would be at my brother-in-laws funeral.   His answer was disturbing with his accusations.

14)  
I contacted a lawyer.  He sent him a letter giving him 30 days to refund my money.   No reply.

15)  
Petition for Damages and Breach of Contract
lawsuit was filed.  Mr. Thompson was
served on 1 February and given 20 days to respond in writing to the court.  No response.

16)  
Motion for Default Judgment filed.  Hearing set for 9 March at 1 p.m.

17)  
In getting ready to meet Mr. Thompson in court, I researched every detail in the written contract and discovered the
following:

a)     
Wind turbines were not ordered from WindEnergy7.  Mr. Hargis, owner of the patent for TowerMill, said that Mr. Thompson got a quote from him, but told him the deal fell through.  No order was placed.

b)     
Mr. Thompson was sued by Hammersmith for failure to pay for towers that they delivered to him.

c)      
Batteries were purchased from Interstate Batteries 100ampHour.  Our contract
states MK Battery.  MK batteries does not make a Lithium-ion battery in the 200ampHour.

d)     
Inverters delivered to our home were for off-grid application and not the model number stated in our contract.  The model number stated in our contract has UL 1741 certificate for interconnection to the grid.

e)     
Net metering with WESTAR states that our system was to be tied to the grid.  Mr. Thompson never submitted the Net Metering Application to WESTAR Energy or to the City Planning Commission.

f)      
Kansas Dept of Revenue states that Mr. Thompson has not paid any Kansas sales tax.  He has been in business since 2008 and according to statements made on the web, he has completed many jobs since that time.

g)     
My BBB complaint was the 1st one filed against Mr. Thompson. 

h)     
The concrete bases were not even the size that Mr. Thompson submitted in his drawings 32 x 3 x 3 does not equal 3x3x 3

i)       
Mr. Thompson used a small electric mixer to mix the Mixmaster concrete.  He put 2 bags of mix in mixer and then proceeded to add water.  Mixer would not turn.  He proceeds to dig it out with a shovel.

j)       
From what I have been able to discover, Mr. Thompson does not give his customers copies of their contract.  I happen to have a copier and I made a copy after signing it.  I also had Mr. Thompson to initial the contract each time I gave him money.

Mr. Thompson kept me from discovering the deception by keeping up the appearance that he would complete the project.  When I forced his hand by getting the permits in November, he delayed even further by stating that he had to complete other jobs to get capital to do mine.   This is after I had paid him over $28,000.